Here's great post from author Rachel Aaron explaining how she quintupled her daily word count.
How I went from writing 2,000 words a Day to 10,000 words a Day.
And another great post from prolific writer, Jay Ridler about increasing speed:
The Speed of Excellence. Part 1.
You can tell what's on my mind, can't you? Any tips from you writers out there? I want to write faster, but with the same, or even improved quality. I don't want much, do I?
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Writing faster would be nice, and I'm with you about wanting to write quality, I'm sure I could write a lot of crap in one day.
ReplyDeleteHoly cow, that's a lot of words. Off to read how she did it! Even 2000 a day would be a lot for me!
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for these links to these articles. :)
ReplyDeleteI agree it is great if you can write fast and well. Those three core requirements from Rachel Aaron's posts are so true.
It's quite an eye-catching blog post isn't it. I'm trying to do the accountability thing at the moment. Just exactly how much time do I spend writing. Less than I'd thought.
ReplyDeleteHypnotize yourself by telling yourself you'll just try writing more for three or four days in a row, while simultaneously setting a ridiculously high bar, like, for example, 100k in November. Get yourself a calendar to put by your desk, and for each day you meet the goal, attach a sticker to it. One you've got those three or four stickers up, you will be loathe to break the sticker chain.
ReplyDeleteThis is what's working for me right now.
On the downside, I am pretty close to being totally wiped out.
p.s. I'm writing faster right now, but I do think the quality is higher. Because I'm writing bigger chunks, from scene to scene and writing day to writing day I'm managing much better continuity and coherence in my plot.
ReplyDeleteYeah, 2K would be a good goal for me, too. 10K a day? Holy crap.
ReplyDeleteRachel's is a great post. Like her, I find it really helps to be thinking and planning out when I'm not "writing" so that I know what I'm going to do when I sit down at the keyboard. I guess we all do that, but it means there's no blank screen syndrome!
ReplyDeleteI definitely need to up my speed. Thanks for two thought-provoking articles!
ReplyDeleteAs much as I love pantsing, I think at least having some idea of the plot points you need to cover is a good help for writing faster. Also not caring about whether your writing's good or not...that's essential. Write now, edit later! And probably not working full time would be conducive to writing faster, I'm thinking. :)
ReplyDeleteOff to check out those links, although less procrastinating would be one plan (for me).
ReplyDelete@Simon, that's interesting I've heard other writers say that the thinking and planning time before they write is very important.
ReplyDelete@Michael, good luck my friend.
@Cate, yep procrastination is a killer.
@Trisha, this plotting business is interesting to me. Strangely interesting. I've always been a panster, but it just doesn't cut it when I try and write long.
@Milo, I know. 10K a day, is just incredible. Just goes to show what can be done. (perhaps not by me though.)
ReplyDelete@Elizabeth, I love that image. Yes, that's exactly right, you can hypnotise yourself into believing that these incredible word counts are doable. And then, you flick the switch and do it. Amazing.
I think it has a lot to do with holing up in a cubicle where there are no distractions and forcing yourself to focus until it flows. Sometimes that will be excruciating, and other times, it'll be big fun. Good luck on picking up speed.
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